A melancholic smile
by phoenix-aerith
Summary: When Mai 'disappears' once too many times on a case, a tea- deprived Naru is more than mad...and the SPR members set to find out about Mai's weird behavior. Of course, the answer leaves them rather surprised...and a new case on their hands. slight MaiNaru
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I will never, ever, own Ghost Hunt…TT

Summary: When Mai 'ditches' the team on a case after acting weirdly for the past few days, a furious Naru and worried SPR members stalk her…and the answer may be more that what they thought…

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On the day when they had _actually_ accepted the case, Mai was absent, having called in sick.

Naru left it be, mostly because of the death glares Ayako and Takigawa (and Lin when he was about to dial Mai's number) were shooting him.

After all, if Lin was starting to side with Ayako and Takigawa, it was not a good sign in any way.

On the second day of the case, Mai had dragged Takigawa on a shopping trip with her.

After making her run back and forth half a day later to fetch his tea plus a threat that he would go on a date with Masako, Naru decided to be benevolent and let it rest.

Of course, Lin and the others thought that 'benevolent' and 'Naru' would never match. Heck, cows…no, the end of the world would come if Naru ever became 'benevolent.'

So when Mai disappeared for the _third_ time…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN, SHE'S GONE!?"

Everyone with the exception of Lin (he's used to Naru's petty moods) cringed.

"Well…Mai- san said that she had something to do, so…" John said nervously. "She also said she'll be back before nightfall…"

Naru grounded his teeth in frustration. _That idiot…_ "For heavens sake, this is the freaking third time she went missing on us! MoreOVER, WHILE WE ARE ON A FREAKING CASE!!!"

"Er, true, but she's gone missing on us on almost every case we had so far though…"

Ayako leaned over to Takigawa. "Don't push your luck, idiot!"

"But it's a fact…"

"LIN! I DON'T CARE HOW YOU DO IT; GET ME A TRACE ON MAI! NOW!"

Lin raised an eyebrow. "That's a raid on privacy, you know."

"AND I DON'T GIVE A DAMN! SO FIND OUT WHERE SHE IS, OR I'LL SO FREAKING FIRE YOU!"

"…"

Yasuhara pushed up his specs. "Naru is really mad, isn't he?"

"First time I've seen such a scenario. Naru losing his cool like that…" John shivered.

"I think I feel almost sorry for Gene and Lin- san for living with someone like that…it's a miracle they haven't cracked so far…"

"True, true…" Takigawa nodded his head. "But then again…what else would you expect from a tea- deprived result boss early this morning?"

XXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Somewhere else…_

"Achoo!" The florist glanced in sympathy at the young girl.

"Mai- chan, are you sure you didn't catch a cold?" The young girl rubbed at her nose ruefully and shook her head.

"I doubt. Must be someone scolding me…achoo! Achoo!"

-_Poor thing…her boss must be hell of a curser…-_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Any luck, Lin-san?" Takigawa peered at the computer over Lin's shoulder. Lin frowned, then shook his head.

"Figured as much…man…of all days to take a break…"

"But its not like Naru would give her off anyway? Who knows…?" Ayako tapped her chin thoughtfully, "she went on a date!?"

"You think so?" Yasuhara asked. Ayako nodded smugly. "Of course! At this age, there's always the very first important first date and kiss!"

"First date and kiss huh…? No wonder she had me go shopping with her!" Takigawa exclaimed. "Wait. First kiss!? Now, whose the boy?" he growled, over- protective brother instincts kicking in almost at once.

Ayako threw a pillow into his face. "Lin- san, what do you think?"

Lin started. "Me?"

Ayako rolled her eyes. "Yes, you. Do I look like I'm speaking to John or that dumb monk over there?"

"Well…maybe we should ask her friends…?"

"And shouldn't all of you have said that from the start?" Everyone flinched.

"Na…naru…"

"Punishment: For now, ALL of you will be taking over Mai's duties. Ayako, TEA."

And Naru slammed the door shut behind him.

Takigawa gulped. "How long was he behind us?"

John choose that moment to look up from his work. "Oh, from the time when all of you entered this room."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Today was the day, Mai thought as she settled down into the seat, watching the scenery rush by her.

Naru was going to be _so _mad. After all, she 'ran' out on them once too many this time.

Mai snorted. –_Its only because there'll be no one making tea. Bet's he cranky if I was sneezing that bad earlier on_…_besides, I have a good reason…_-

Shifting her purchases and flowers into a more comfortable position, Mai emptied all thoughts of Naru, her friends at the SPR and the scolding she was likely to receive later, and instead focused on the familiar bump of the bus on the road, and the familiar scenery that she only saw few times a year.

For now, she just didn't want to think about anything else.

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_Ring…_

"_Moshi, moshi! This is Keiko- chaaaan~~~"_

# Cough #

"Keiko- san? This is Lin from SPR calling."

"_Lin? Hmm…ohhh!!! I remember now! You're the tall guy with a weird aura plus a Hatori- hairstyle from Fruits Basket, right?"_

_-Hatori…? Fruits Basket? What on earth is she talking about?-_

Lin swore he heard Yasuhara and Takigawa snickering in the background. Ignoring them, he coughed again. "While I have no idea how on earth you perceived me to be some…Hatori…person, I'm just calling to ask if Taniyama- san, by any chance, was in contact with you this morning?"

"_Mai? No, she wasn't, and I don't think she will. After all, today is _that_ day. Its only natural she wanted to have quiet time to herself…"_

"That day?" Even without turning his head, Lin knew that everyone would be exchanging glances at each other.

"_Yea, that day."_

There was silence for a while. _"You mean…you guys don't know…?"_

"And what are we supposed to know that so happens that you _know_? It also happens that we need to find her urgently as Na…our boss is not very happy about her disappearance…" Ayako spoke up.

"_That's strange. You mean Mai didn't request for a day off for today?"_

"No, she didn't. Would you please ask her to call us back ASAP?"

"_I wish I could, but today, of all days…"_

"And what day does it happen to be today?" Annoyance laced Lin's voice as he reached for an aspirin.

"_But…today, is the marriage anniversary of Mai's parents…"_

The sentence hit home.

"Mai's…parents' marriage anniversary…?"

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_A/N: And we come to a cliffie…not. # glooms # I must be half asleep if I'm rambling weird stuff, but anyway, first try on a GH fic, so…_

_Read and review? =)_


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Not mine!!

SPOILER ALERT—from GH anime, ep…19 or 20? Cant rmb, psps… .

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The mood in the car was extremely sullen.

Not even Ayako and Takigawa were in the mood to argue, choosing to take out their frustrations by glaring at the black van behind them.

_-Damn you, narcissistic Naru…-_

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# _Flashback #_

_Everyone had been stunned._

"_Ma…marriage anniversary?"_

_Keiko sighed._

"_Yea. Its their marriage anniversary today. Its one of the few times where Mai actually takes off from school to visit them, so the teachers, no questions asked, give her a special leave of absence on this day. Well, there are other special times too, like her mom's or dad's birthday. As a side note, Mai gets really sensitive on this day, so make sure that boss of hers doesn't rile her up, ok?" _

_There was silence for a while._

"_Hello…you guys listening?"_

"_Do you know where she'll be?"_

_Everyone turned around to face Naru._

"_Naru?" Ayako asked disbelievingly._

"_Oi, oi, Naru…" Takigawa looked a little angry. "If this is about your tea…or work for that matter…"_

_There was obvious hesitation on the other line. "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you."_

"_Fine, then I'll check it out myself. Lin."_

"_Wait!" Naru looked expectantly to the speaker._

"_She…"_

_# End Flashback #_

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"Damn that Naru. As if being a tea- obsessed narcist isn't bad enough!" Ayako fumed. "I'm worried about Mai too, but isn't just knowing where she'll be enough?"

"Maybe Naru's worried Mai can't take the stress?" Yasuhara spoke up.

"Yasuhara- san has a point there. Remember the time when she told us she didn't have any family? She seemed pretty calm then." John said.

_# Flashback #_

_Takigawa sighed as he picked up the equipment. "Ahhh…it seems we might be here for a while. Mai, remember to call home."_

"_Nah, its alright…I don't need to."_

"_Nah, all right my foot! Its not okay at the least!"_

"_But…I don't have any parents…"_

_It didn't take long for the new information to sink in._

"_EH!?"_

"_Don't have…you're an orphan!?" Takigawa said, clearly shocked. Even Lin had stopped his work, half glancing towards the young girl._

"_That's right. My dad left when I was real young. Mom left when I was still in junior high…"_

"_Then…what about uncles and aunties?" Ayako asked._

"_My parents were completely alone in the world." Mai answered, as if she had practiced the same thing over and over again._

"_Then…how did you manage up to now?" John couldn't help but ask._

"_One of my teachers was really good for caring at others." Mai smiled at the memory as she continued taking notes. "She took me in for a while. But right now, I'm supporting myself." Mai stopped scribbling for a moment and looked at them gleefully. "Aren't I great? My school's really nice towards the poor, so my fees are waived. My living expenses are mainly through scholarships and this part time job, so if I tell them I'm working, I can take as much day off as I like~~"_

_Ayako couldn't help but smile. "So on days you want to skip, you just tell them its for work…"_

_Mai was still smiling gleefully. "Right! I can take much time off as I like~~" Then a slight troubled expression crossed her face as she turned to look at Yasuhara. "Oops…"_

_Yasuhara was clearly imitating Naru. "That would make you stupid." Mai let out a sheepish laugh. "What a great imitation!"_

_Then Mai found herself unable to breathe as Takigawa glomped her. "If you ever need a shoulder to cry on, you can always come find me…"_

_Mai pushed him away. "Who needs it, hentai oyaji?" Takigawa whacked her head lightly. "Talk about being uncute!"_

_And everyone then laughed as Takigawa had Mai in a headlock and poking her, with Ayako making comments on how idiotic they were being. No one said it out loud, but…_

_What amazed them, was how Mai was answering their answers so calmly without a slightest hint of sadness on her face._

_# End Flashback #_

Takigawa was frowning. Ever since the revelations, he had started to become more protective of her. No wonder she had been so worked up when they had their case at Yasuhara's school. She didn't want the parents to feel the loss of their child. He squeezed his eyes and hands.

"Mai…"

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Mai let out a breath and glanced behind her, then poked at her stomach.

_-Climbing so many stairs, should have lost a bit of weight…-_

"Mai- chan?"

Mai looked up in surprise. "Ah, Shima- san!"

The middle- aged monk smiled. "Good to see you again. Come to visit them?" Mai nodded happily.

"Its been a while since I dropped by to talk to you and my parents for a while. Besides, today is a rather… special occasion for…" Mai trailed off, a wistful expression creeping over her face. The monk smiled sadly to himself.

_-No matter what you says…its hurts a lot, doesn't it, Mai- chan?-_

He clapped his hands loudly, and Mai gave a start before smiling sheepishly at him in return. "My bad, I was day-dreaming again…"

"I'm used to it." The monk said amusedly. "Now, you should hurry, the weather is all that pleasant today. Just remember to stop by later, all right?" Mai nodded.

"Right!"

As Mai bounded away happily, the monk sighed again.

"To tell her that…she might not take it well…"

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Lin watched as Naru flipped through the pages of their current case, looking positively annoyed, and clearly ignoring the nasty aura radiating out from the car in front of them. After all, the case this time round was nothing more than the master of the house having an extremely bad condition of sleepwalking, and of Naru's attitude.

How he managed to avoid the cameras was another question, though…although it was mainly thanks to Mai who had found out the problem.

"Lin." His chain of thoughts snapped, and he took a quick glance at Naru before turning his eyes back to the road in front of him.

"Where did Mai's friend say the place was again?"

"Moriyama Shrine."

"Moriyama Shrine…if memory does not fail me-"

"_NARU!"_

Naru scowled as he pressed a few buttons. "Can I help you, Matzuaki- san?"

"_I just remembered. We accepted a case on a certain shrine, didn't we?"_

"…"

"_Naru?"_

"John- san. You referred the case to us, am I right?"

"_Eh…a bishop friend of mine referred his friend's case to me. And so…but, the shrine…"_

"…the name?"

There was silence for a while, as Lin started to recall the conversation from that day.

"_Moriyama Shrine…"_

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_A/N: And I finally got the motivation and that bit of time…and I freaking fell from stairs and fractured my leg as a result…# sigh #_

_Sorry for the abrupt change, but I got this idea when I was in one of my thinking moods._

_I've no idea whether it will be okay with you guys, that's why it'll be nice if everyone could review and tell me if you liked the change or would prefer me to change it back to the original idea. Really, I wont mind =)_

_Well…looking forward to your reviews? (Sounds kinda shameless of me…^^;;)_


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Not mine…

* * *

"Moriyama Shrine…"

Naru threw the file at the back of the seat after making sure it was _properly_ clipped, so that he wouldn't lose anything, even though it had been a waste of time, and flipped through the other file on his lap.

The newest case.

He was certain that this case would not be easy.

"_Then again, since when have any of our cases been easy_?" Takigawa's voice broke through his thoughts.

Naru frowned, then turned to Lin. "Did I just say that loud and clear?"

"_Eh? Naru- bou, you were thinking of that? Ahaha!! I must be a psychic!"_ Lin looked vaguely amused. "Ayako was talking about it."

"_Hey Lin, don't spoil my few seconds of glory, will ya?" _Takigawa whined as Ayako started cursing profanities at the monk, with John trying to keep peace, but failing miserably.

The tirade went on for a while, until Naru started getting fed up and turned off the communicator. Scowling heavily, he leaned back into the seat and continued reading the file, as the day's conversation came to his mind…

* * *

_# Flashback #_

_Naru was in his moods again._

_As a result of excessive tea-drinking, their two months worth of tea were polished off within 4 weeks._

_Mai had not been very happy, and to make it worse, she was in her own moods that day when she found out, and had promptly given Naru a lecture. After which, she grabbed her jacket and stormed out of the office, all the while muttering and cursing._

_It was half and hour since it happened._

_And Mai was still not back with his tea._

_Drat it._

_Then, he heard the familiar chime of the door, and it took all of his willpower to not go out and start screaming at Mai, so when he opened the door…_

"_Ah, Shibuya- san. So you were in after all."_

_Naru squashed the 'disappointment' word as he acknowledged John. "Can I help you?"_

"_Actually, yes…" the door chimed open, and Mai stepped in, one hand laden with groceries. She shot Naru a withering look, which disappeared as fast it had come out._

"_John- san! Ah, sorry, Lin- san…" Lin shook his head. "Do you want me to bring these to the kitchen?" Mai nodded, then turned to John. "Give us a moment, 'kay? I'll be right back with the tea!"_

_John sweatdropped as he saw Naru glared murderously at his assistant's back, who was chatting happily with Lin as they walked into the kitchen, then motioned for John to sit as he readied his notepad and pen. "So, what's your case about?"_

"_Ah yes. Actually, I'm not so sure about the details myself. A bishop friend of mine has a friend who is a monk at a shrine. Just several weeks ago, something odd happened."_

"_Odd as in?"_

"_Well…how should I say this…the atmosphere suddenly felt wrong. At first, the monk, Shima- san, thought that it was the construction nearby that was disturbing the peace in the forest, since the shrine is technically surrounded by forests, but as it went on, things became…much weirder."_

"_We should probably get Matsuzaki- san to look at it, since she is attuned to trees and such. Anyway, what happened from then?"_

"_Shima- san said the atmosphere completely changed. Birds stopped singing, groups of insects would gather, and everything felt eerie. He always felt something watching him, and nasty pranks were frequently carried out. It was not until last week where a visitor was badly hurt that he decided that something was extremely wrong, and thus approached my friend, who then referred the situation to me."_

"_What happened to the man?"_

"_Knocked out, and when he woke up, he was pushed off a tree once he made sense of where he was. He suffered a fracture and some other light wounds."_

"_Had there been any scenarios such as these before?" John shook his head. "I'm not certain. However, the case that we would be working on tomorrow, is close to the shrine. I can make arrangements for us to go over to take a look."_

_Naru shut his notepad. "Please do. And also, have him keep you informed of any happenings at the shrine. We might need to be prepared properly if we are to head directly to the next case after handling the current one."_

_John nodded. "Understood."_

"_Good. Mai! Are you boiling a turtle or whatsoever? When is my tea going to be ready?"_

_# Flashback ends #_

Naru stared out at the scenery. Suddenly everything felt so wrong.

* * *

_Moriyama Shrine_

The scenery was the same as ever.

Mai walked among the tall pine trees, taking comfort in the shade and the peacefulness it gave off. It would have been nicer if birds had been singing.

_-Naru must be hopping mad by now. Well…that's because no one is going to make his tea…- _A corner of Mai's mouth twitched as she imagined a furious Naru. She wondered if Gene made the same reaction, when he was deprived of something.

-_Nah…impossible. By the looks of it…he only gives those puppy dog eyes…-_ she chuckled. The trail gradually ended, and as Mai walked past several rows of tombstones, her eyes ever forward, and turned right-

She stopped in front of theirs, and set down the flowers and picnic basket she had brought along with her. A nostalgic, but cheerful smile crossed her face as she brushed off dust that had collected over the months.

"Hello mum, dad."

* * *

As they waited for the cars to refuel, Takigawa had questioned Naru about his next step. "We will have to see the place first."

"But do you really think its paranormal activity?"

"We might need Matsuzaki- san's expertise on this one. Moriyama Shrine is surrounded by forests, so we will need her to ask the spirits if the construction nearby is what is causing the disturbance." Ayako shot Takigawa a smug look, then turned back to Naru.

"But in any case, is there anything else that we should consider?" Naru nodded. "I have taken other things into consideration. I have also researched up my father's files on cases like these, and added my own notes inside. But I won't make any further assumptions until we have seen the occurrences." Takigawa let out a frustrated sigh.

"And we will also have to take Mai's feelings into consideration. I have this feeling that this case will be very strongly tied to her."

"Mai will know what is right, and what needs to be done."

"Are you certain?" Takigawa's eyes bored into Naru's. "Are you certain you won't do anything without getting her left out of the loop?" Naru stared back. "Yes."

_-No…I'm not certain. But what has to be done, must be done.-_

* * *

_Moriyama Shrine_

Mai set down her cup. "Ah…the tea you serve is always the best, Shima- san." The monk chuckled. "Thank you, Mai- chan. Has life been good for you?" Mai nodded happily. The monk beamed.

"Oh yes, Shima- san. Are you expecting visitors? I saw all the cushions, and I will be going if I am going to be a lightbulb here…and yes, how is your leg?" Shima shook his head. "No, you aren't, Mai- chan. And don't worry, my leg is healing a lot better now. Its only a sprain, remember?"

"But when the hospital called me, I was so freaked out. But in any case, it's good to see you're better." Shima patted Mai's head. "Thank you, Mai- chan. I am really a lot better now." Mai smiled.

Loud mumblings from outside soon drew their attention. "Ah, that must be your guests. I should be going now." Mai and Shima stood up. As he reached out to open the sliding door, he turned to Mai. "Do take care of yourself more often." He heard someone gasp. "And make sure to talk to someone if you have problems. I still have Mr Kazuki's number, if you ever need to talk to him or his wife." Mai shook her head.

"I'll be fine." Then she turned straight forward, and her eyes widened in shock.

Takigawa gave a sheepish 'yo', as the others smiled, obviously strained. Naru, was still Naru. Gene would have been snowed over if Naru ever smiled.

-_Okay, he did smile once…-_

"Mai."

"Na…Naru? What are you doing here? Why is everyone here?"

Silence fell over the group, as Naru tried hard not to roll his eyes.

"Obviously, for a case."

Mai felt chills run down her back.

"Case? What case? Shima- san, what's going on?"

* * *

_A/N: Wahhhhhh~~~ I finally finished~~~ and its hols~~~~_

_Yeah, so erm, I realized that in my previous chappie, I forgot to say thanks to the reviews (I felt so bad) and I really have to apologise for the late updates. Projects can really screw one up. TT but for some reason, I love it sometimes._

_I must be a little nuts from the projects._

_Anyway, to the following people~~:_

Lilmel87, Tenru Wingstorm, Emina 105, KayKit, YunaNeko, Moons- chan, Naruishot, lullabyoasis, XxmotojixX, Fallenraindrops, Jillian, twilight-twins2, scoliosisr2d2, girlx901, Flamegirl5500, LunaxXmoongoddessXx, Ayjah, chocolvr69, moonlight ookami, moonlightbutterflye, kimmiiee. And to all the others who read or added this story to their favorites.

_Thanks for the reviews! They were lovely. =) Hope you enjoyed this chapter too!_


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: No, no, non.

* * *

She had to be dreaming.

Yes, she was.

All she had to do was to just _pinch _herself again…

"Stop pinching yourself, Mai. We _are _here, in the flesh." She wasted no time in rounding on her narcissist boss.

"Well, _excuse me? _That coming from someone who decided that the word 'privacy' didn't exist in his dictionary and start showing up at one place that I rather have no one who knows me well knows? On my parents' anniversary no less!" Mai stormed out, not bothering to slide shut the door after her.

Masako raised one sleeve. "How rude. After all the trouble we made to come here…"

"It can't be helped, you see." Shima cut in before Masako could continue her snide remarks. "Dates like these are days she wishes to just spend with her parents. I was not aware Mai was so closely affiliated with your company however. But I am pleased that you would look into my case."

"You're welcome. About Mai, I will answer your queries later. For now my assistant, Lin, and I would like to ask you some questions. Depending on your answers and how severe we gauge the situation to be, we might not accept your case." Shima nodded in understanding. "Excellent, Lin, if you please."

As Lin shifted to sit next to him, Naru took a sidelong glance at the still open sliding door.

-_Mai…-_

* * *

"How is it?"

Ayaka slid her hand off the tree. Takigawa and John approached her, the former looking at the tree before turning his attention back to the frowning priestess, who seemed to be deep in thought. "Ayaka- san?"

"This is strange." Startled, John and Takigawa stayed silent for a moment, before Takigawa spoke again. "What is?"

"The spirits admit that the construction nearby is indeed upsetting them, but they are not the ones behind the malicious pranks." Takigawa sighed. "But even so…"

"What is it?" John tilted his head. Ayako's frown grew deeper.

"According to them…ever since 'that thing' was brought in, nothing here rests in bliss."

* * *

Naru looked impatiently at his watch. –_They sure are slow, those three…-_

Meanwhile, Lin had readied a set of questions and was busy discussing the layout of the shrine with Shima, taking notes here and then. Out of a corner of his eye, Naru could see that Masako was clearly uncomfortable with something, judging by the way she had been fidgeting from the time they stepped into the area.

A mix of footsteps, Naru got ready to admonish the three-

"Naru! Look out!"

Reflexes kicking in instinctively, he dropped to the floor as a huge branch flew into the room, splintering at the ends as it came into contact with the wall before crashing into the floor.

As the dust cleared, Naru sat up and looked around. "Everyone alright?"

"I think so…" Masako looked shaken. "Shima- san? Lin- san?"

"Oi!" Takigawa burst into the room, followed by John and Ayako, eyes widening as he surveyed the damage. "What happened?"

Naru looked up from helping Lin move the unconscious monk away from the debris. "As you can see, we were attacked by a flying tree branch." He said flatly. Loud voices caught their attention, and Naru walked towards the door as several men ran up, panting.

"Can I help you, sirs?" Naru said. The men looked uneasy, some mumbling among themselves. "Well... pardon me…but, by any chance did you see a log dropping here… or something like that?" one of the men asked, wringing his fingers.

Naru looked at him. A white helmet, he surely was in- charge.

"Yes, a log suddenly flew in." the men looked alarmed. "But no one was hurt, only small wounds." They relaxed slightly.

"I see… but if you wish for compensation, please do feel free to look for me. I'm the in- charge of the site there," the white- helmeted man pointed to the distance, where a plume of smoke rose amongst the forest.

"Of course, how should I address you, sir? I'm Shibuya Kazuya."

"I'm Tonotori. And this is my assistant, Sakurai." He addressed the young man by his side, who bowed. Naru bowed back slightly.

"Pleasure to meet you, Tonotori- san. If you do not mind, I would like to drop by and enquire about this accident."

"Of course not. If you do not mind, we would like to retrieve the log."

"Not at all, please do." Naru moved aside, as Sakurai began barking orders and the other men made to move the log.

Out of a corner of his eye, Naru saw Tonotori slouched heavily, mumbling.

"It's a curse… this is a curse…"

_

* * *

_

Elsewhere…

"The construction has to be stopped! Already the spirits are angered!" A man thundered. "We cannot afford to have the name of our company disgraced further!"

"Are you saying that you believe in those…things?" another man said.

"Then how would you explain the accidents?" the man snapped back. "That shrine might contain plenty of resources, but if more people are going to get hurt, I'm outta of this project. I don't care even if I have to compensate in full!"

"Gentlemen, and women, if you please…let me have a word…" all heads swiveled around to face the blond- haired man.

"Who are you?" a woman asked, eyebrows raised. "Never seen you here before."

"Of course." The man answered cheerfully. "I, was just newly brought in here by one of your contractors. Mr…Tonotori, I believe?"

"Tonotori?" the first man barked. "So who are you supposed to be? A consultant?"

"Close to it, Mr Hideki. Pardon my rudeness; I have yet to introduce myself, am I right? My name is Nicholas Herrikson. I am a consultant…on more spiritual matters?"

"Well, we've never heard of you. And Tonotori…I thought he was bad enough, but hiring a consultant on spiritual matters? He's got Alzheimer's." Small laughter filled the room.

"Miss Shouta, I can assure you I'm no quack or those kind of nonsense spiritual chit chatters. And I can also assure you that the shrine…or rather, the forest near the shrine, is pretty out of bounds. You shouldn't have set your eyes on that area."

"Why? Coz of all those floating white balls or flying logs?" Another man snorted. "In my opinion, Tonotori is being inefficient. We shouldn't have hired him in the first place!"

Nasty laughter filled the room once more. Nicholas stood up, and all eyes turned to him, only for them to shrink back as they looked at his glacier- blue eyes.

"Gentlemen, and ladies." Everyone froze. Nicholas's voice might have as well been the Arctic regions. "When I say I am no quack, it's true. I come from one of the most prestigious paranormal research facility. But seeing as you still refuse to believe, I do not see any point in telling you. All I can say is, if you do not pull out, suffer the consequences by yourself."

_

* * *

_

Moriyama Shrine

Mai opened her eyes, and stretched her tired body. Apparently, she had fallen asleep in between her parents' gravestones after stomping out in anger. She sighed, and took a look at her watch.

"Oh my god…I slept for 3 hours?" she all but shrieked. _Damn it, there goes the last bus. Looks like I have to bunk in with Shima- san tonight. _Standing up, she dusted her skirt and knelt in front of the gravestones, brushing her parents' names fondly.

"Got to go now, mom, dad. See you next month on mom's birthday." Gazing fondly a little while more, she stood up…and her eyes widened as Lin and Ayako walked up to her, daffodils in Ayako's hands.

"Ayako, Lin- san…" Both smiled at Mai, as Ayako set down the flowers on both graves and bowed, as did Lin.

"Hello, Taniyama- san tachi. I'm Ayako, and this is Lin. We're Mai's colleagues from work." Ayako drapped a hand around Mai's shoulder. "Sorry to have intruded on a private day for all of you, our sincere apologies. But rest well, we'll look after Mai well on behalf of the both of you."

Mai felt the tears threatening to fall. The last person who had said that was Keiko and her former teacher. It had been a while since anyone had said that, and no matter how she looked, the pain seemed fresh everytime she came here.

"Thanks, Ayako, Lin- san."

Ayako rubbed the girl's head fondly, as Lin passed his handkerchief to the now sobbing girl.

"You're welcome, Mai."

* * *

Naru looked up as Ayako, Lin and Mai trooped into the room, the girl's eyes slightly red and puffed.

_Probably from crying, _Naru thought to himself. A pang of jealously went through him as John lightly hugged the girl. Stamping down the feeling as quickly as it came, he cleared his throat. All eyes turned to him, then to Takigawa as he shut the door behind him.

"Takigawa. How is the monk?" Alarm bells went off in Mai's head. She had not missed their injuries, and the slightly trashed up room had caught her attention, not to mention the huge gaping hole in the wall, in which she was certain was never there when she had visited earlier.

Unless she was blind and missed it somehow.

"What's wrong with Shima- san?" Mai cut in before Takigawa could say anything. "Where is he?"

"Ojou- chan, relax. The monk is resting. Earlier we had an…UFO accident." Takigawa scratched his head as he dropped to the cushion next to Mai.

"UFO?" Mai looked confused. "Unidentified flying object? Those things don't exist, Bou- san." She chided. Takigawa's mouth twitched in tired amusement.

"No, dear. UFO as in Unexpected flying object. See the hole there? Even if it was aliens, I doubt that they would zap a hole as small as this."

"You consider this small?" Ayako shrieked. "This is the size of a circle drawn around 4 footballs put together!"

"For the aliens, at least. To us humans it's pretty big." Mai stood up.

"Ojou- chan, where are you going?" Takigawa looked at her in surprise.

"Just going to check if Shima- san is alright. I'll be back soon." She padded past them silently and slid the door shut behind her.

A few seconds later after Naru had made certain he couldn't hear Mai's footsteps, he turned to Lin.

"Matsuaki- san, Lin. How did your search go?" Both shook their heads. "Nothing." Ayako sighed, but her eyes betrayed her consternation.

"What is it?" All eyes turned to Ayako.

"I've been communicating with the spirits along the way, and Lin had his Shiki search around. We both came to the same conclusion."

"What? What thing?" Takigawa pressed. For once Ayako did not snap back, only turning to Lin.

"Lin." Naru looked at the Chinese man. Lin sighed.

"Apparently, this part of the area is considered holy. Do you remember the school case where there was one of those…"

"Yes." Naru nodded. "Is this like that case?"

"No… It's not. I'm afraid, its more monstrous that that case."

"Way…more complex…" Ayako added. "We're talking about a very dangerous one here, Naru, worse than that blood mansion. If we're not careful…"

"Then we'll be the next victims." Lin finished.

_

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A/N: So I managed to properly finish this chapter, whew. Anyway, I'm sorry for the long wait! Too many problems…such is life. Hahahaaaa…...ah

_I promise to update faster next time! Really sorry for the wait! Before that…thanks to:_

KayKit: Thank you! Hope you enjoyed this chapter too!

Krisaku: Sorry for the long wait, here's chappie 4! =)

Moonlightbutterflye: Really? Glad to hear that! =D Hope this chapter was nice for you as well!

Flamegirl5500: Sorry for the long long wait! I will slowly reveal everything over the chapters...so as to keep the suspense, heh. Happy hols to you too! Mine just ended. TT

Moonlight ookami: Sorry to have made you wait! Here's chappie 4!

Fallenraindrops: Too many things had been going on, so I didn't have a chance to properly finish this chapter. Now its done though, and I promise to update faster next time! =)

Ayjah: Yeah! Many might call her naïve, but I think her caring for everyone is one of the best traits she has. But she might be a little OoC in this chappie though…hmm…

YunaNeko: Arigatou~~ here's chappie 4, hope you enjoyed it! =)

Southern-punk: Haha, as much as I fear horror stuff, I have to admit Ghost hunt is awesome…I need moreeeee…..hahaha. Oh well, Naru…is being Naru. Hee hee~ here's chappie 4, hope you enjoyed it!

Herbblood: Really? Thank you! Hope this chapter was up to your expectations!

aniAngelxx: NOOO, I couldn't quit even if I wanted to, too many of you awesome readers to stop writing, haha! Sorry in advance for the late update, I promise to update faster next time! =)

Kenjo: Thank you! Hope you liked this chapter too!

HappyBunny855: Thank you! I'll update faster next time, hope you enjoyed this chappie in the meantime!

_Feel free to give me comments on how to improve, and looking forward to your reviews! Thanks to all those who read and favorite-ed it too!_

_I will REALLY update faster next time! =) Cya soon~~~_


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